Continuing down the path suggested by her previous films, Flemish auteur Fien Troch again explores the big mysteries of life in oblique if beautifully staged fashion in "Kid."

Continuing down the path suggested by her previous films, Flemish auteur Fien Troch again explores the big mysteries of life in oblique if beautifully staged fashion in “Kid.” This stark Dutch-language feature contrasts stilted country/suburban tableaux with shaky handheld camerawork, effectively suggesting the suffocation and restrictions felt by the eponymous 7-year-old protag, though precise details are often lost in ellipses so frequent as to render the pic the arthouse equivalent of Swiss cheese. Beyond fests and local play, Euro broadcasters will want to have a look.

Kid (Bent Simons, a natural) lives on a farm with his mother (Gabriele Carizzo) and teen brother (Maarten Meeusen). Dad’s nowhere in sight, and economically, things are a disaster. Kid instinctively feels something’s wrong, and occasionally acts irrationally, though he’s unaware of what the far-reaching consequences of the family’s situation might be. As in her previous “Unspoken” and moody debut “Someone Else’s Happiness,” Troch trusts auds will piece together their own idea of how the various beautiful pieces fit together, though the structure is too rigidly syncopated to engage on more than a purely formal level. Craft contributions are terrific.